Gundam Epyon by Leon Ku

It has been quite some time since I blogged about someone's work. Today, I had the opportunity to view this one up close and used my camera phone to take close shots of it. This was one of the entries at GBWC Singapore 2011 and to me, the most underrated work. I do not understand why this entry did not made it to the top 3. I pinned it down to the inadequate lighting and unimpressive display area offered by the organizers. Questioning the Judges' decisions would deemed improper (whatever). Anyway, it's over and I think this work deserved a mention here. Don't think my photography will ever do it justice. But it would be a waste if I don't give it the limelight it so deserves ( I'm considering a proper reshoot in the future). 

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DMK Nemesis Prime and Ultra Magnus

A few months ago, I was approached to build a Transformer kit for Singapore's first ever Cybertron Con. We have two Dual Model Kits (DMK) to choose from. Both Leon and I opted for Optimus Prime.These DMKs are hot stuff and much sought after in the market. 

Leon decided to do Nemesis Prime version while I do Ultra Magnus. It took me two months to finish this. It is longer than expected but I wasn't working on it everyday. The DMK is much different compared to Bandai Kits. But the details on the internals are fantastic. I had a great time painting them. Since I doing a white colour scheme, I needed to get blue flames decals from Samuel's and thanks to him, I got them within a week! 

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Battle Ops Bumblebee - Review

I am not really a huge fan of Transformers and I do not owe one myself. But I grabbed this the moment I saw it, despite the hefty price tag. And while fiddling with it, I thought I could take some pictures and share with you guys. 

My first impression of this kit is its size and weight. Slightly taller than the Sinanju, it weighs like a Perfect Grade gundam. I am amazed at the attention paid to details. It does't look that toyish anymore and almost like a replicate from the movie.  

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Gundam Head Figures by Leon Ku

I have some photos of these resin Gundam Head figures painted by Leon. I think these kits make very good display pieces. And he has done a very good job here. For those of you who never tried resins I must tell you it is a whole new ball game compared to plastic. It requires more sanding work and resin quality varies after several recasts. And masking is required since several colours can be molded together sometimes.  

GP02A

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PG GP01 Maintenance Diorama by Leon Ku

Some of you probably seen this a few weeks ago. But I think I should post here just to show you how awesome this is! This PG GP01 with maintenance setup was done by Leon and it is darn impressive. The additional crates, containers structures really make this one stand out. And the orange colour scheme really goes well with the mecha (much to my surprise). Sorry for the lack of pictures. I will post more once I can get a closer look at it.... 

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Gundams on horses (By Leon Ku)

Many years back, I remember seeing a nice BAKUC entry from Thailand of a Knight riding a horse. The knight was coverted from a MG Gyan. I think that this combination of Gundam and its ride is a interesting idea and no doubt impressive if one can pull it off. And we do have a "representative" in Singapore too. This one was presented in BAKUC 2008 under the expert category made by Leon, Musha Gundam and a magnificient horse. 

This one shocked me for a long time... And I am seldom "shocked".

The horse (if everyone is curious) is converted from the Super Robot Wars Aussenseiter (horse mode). He did some research on the history of Feudal Japan. The colour and modifications were made with that era in mind.

The bow and arrows were scratchbuilt and designs were handpainted.

How he actually balanced the whole thing on a simple but impressive looking base is still a mystery to me.

Those beads you see were taken from some oriental displays.

The tail of the horse were from the wings of the PG Wing Gundam. 

And as if one is not enough, he went on to produce another variation recently. This time "Guan Yu" on his red horse. I like the colour of the horse, very striking and meanacing. REally don't know what to say, why not we just look at the pictures and soak it in....

 

I wouldn't be surprised at all if someone commission him to do a whole army of it....

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PG GP01 by Leon Ku

Here is one classic that everyone likes, a Perfect Grade GP01/Fb. For those who has this will know how massive this kit is. With hanger parts and additional amours, it is a challenge to complete this.

Luckily, Leon did this one a few years back. Being the speed demon he is, I have absolutely no doubt he completed this within a month. Aside from details and panel lines, he even added a hanger "wall" to complete the set up.

Enjoy the view guys!

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ROTF Devastator

Leon's most spectacular repaint todate, the Devastator! 

SCRAPPER

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Optimus Prime

Leon mentioned to me that the Leader Class Optimus Prime is one of the toughest he encountered so far. Not only are the parts small, most of them can't be airbrushed. So more hand painting is required. The flames on the truck is another killer. I have seen others who simply sprayed a top coat over it. Here, he specially scratched a weapon from some gundam parts. What do you say?

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Megatron Ravage custom by Leon Ku

When Leon first showed this to me for the first time, I told myself this could not have been a toy! I thought this Megatron looked actually like the one in the movie. The metallic colour is dead on, very suitable for this Transformer.

As I know that these toys are not like model kits. Parts cannot be separated for painting. I colud imagine the masking and hand painting needed for this one.

Inner chest is painted in gold to give it the "glow" effect.

Small parts are painstakingly hand painted.

Do I see shading on the metallic surface? I have seen a lot of metallic model; but I thought shading and metal colours do not go together. Or maybe I'm wrong? Looks pretty naturally here. The base is another nice touch, simple but effective.

Ravage

Ahhhh, our house kitten.

I believe the spikes have been removed. The original spikes were too "unsightly" so I heard.Anyway he replaced it with some metal components.

And finally... the combiner, Megatron & Ravage. The original arm of Megatrom looks "chewed off" to me. Now it look complete.

SO ANY TAKERS?

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